


The Chimera

by Xiel (AristoRaccoon)



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Blood, Gen, Quirin is just scared for his son, Shapeshifting, Shapeshifting Varian AU, just a bit, whole lotta angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:23:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22830907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AristoRaccoon/pseuds/Xiel
Summary: Waking up to a loud noise one night, Quirin comes face-to-face with a monster.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 72





	The Chimera

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boy, another form change AU (why do I like those so much). Thanks to CodyNaomiSwire for the premise!
> 
> So the AU context here is simple : Varian was born with the power to shapeshift into any desired animal thanks to an alchemical accident from his mother when she was pregnant. He and Quirin have to keep his powers a secret from the superstitious villagers or face fiery consequences, and Varian is trying very hard to keep his powers under control!

Quirin's voice died in his throat as he looked at the cause of the loud noise that woke him up: a monster.

No. His son, Varian.

The thin hunched form growled as it used its talon-like clawed hands to rip open one of the wooden cupboards, small pieces of the wooden door falling to the ground, standing taller on its hind legs and then shoving its panther-like muzzle into the small space. It was hungry.

Quirin could only watch, horrified and quiet as a mouse, with a thousand questions rushing his mind. W-What happened to his son?! What could he do now?!  
He knew Varian had been rather grumpy lately but he had chalked it up to the sudden pains he'd been complaining about.

The beast suddenly removed its snout from the cupboard and sniffed the air around, its ears pinning back as it snapped its head around and stared at the man in the doorway, lips pulled back in a snarl. Quirin froze at his son's glowing eyes.  
"V-Varian...i-it's me. It's Dad..."

His boy showed no recognition as he arched his back even more and started circling his father; his feet's claws lightly tapping the ground, crocodile tail gently swaying side to side and ruffled feathers on his back. Quirin took a step back and readied a defensive stance..h-he wouldn't.

But the monster gave a piercing roar before jumping, claws at the ready.

Quirin barely dodged the chimera's attack as he sidestepped out of the way just in time, getting a deep scratch on his arm in the process.  
The monster landed on all four in the living room floor with a deafening scratching sound, deep claw marks left on the wooden boards, snarling at the man who placed a hand on his injured arm. He smelled of fear and the beast was hungry; the chase was beginning. It gave another deep growl as it stared at its prey.

He looked at his son's deformed shape, fear rising in his chest. Whatever was standing in front of him right now was dangerous...  
 _( ~~How dare he think that of his boy~~ )_

He could try running away, but if Varian got outside and started attacking the villagers...

No. He needed to keep him here, somehow.  
Staring at the chimera as he took a few steps back towards the kitchen, internally relieved when he saw it struggled to remove its claws from the wooden boards, he looked around for anything he could use. Nothing really useful save for maybe the tipped chairs. He glanced back at his son.  
"V-Varian, son, _p-please_...", he said in a pleading voice with the beginning of tears stinging his eyes as he picked up one of the fallen chair, despite his arm burning from the pain.

But the beast gave no indication of understanding. It simply kept growling and snarling as it finally managed to remove one of its stuck hands from the floor. The staredown between the two lasted a few tense minutes alongside the sound of struggling scratching, before Quirin noticed, from the corner of his eye, the back door. The one leading to the isolated path towards the forest behind the village, further alongside the huge wall; he could keep Varian hidden and Old Corona safe.

He slowly sidestepped towards it, keeping his defensive stance towards the monster stuck to the ground and using the chair to keep some distance between them. It kept snarling at him while struggling to remove its other talon-like claw from the ground.

"V-Varian, I-I'm opening the door now...", Quirin said as he shakily turned the doorknob.

The path towards the forest was now in plain sight. The chimera's gaze snapped towards the small dirt road, towards the faraway trees, something inside desperately compelling it to go outside.  
But it was still hungry.

With one fast and powerful movement it managed to finally remove its stuck hand and dashed towards the man, who, with some hesitation, slammed the chair on it's side and and shoved it outside, locking the door with shaky breaths. 

...It was done. Varian was out now, as with the chair he used to shove him. Quirin kept a worried eye on the beast through the window nearby, placing his good hand on his bloodied arm and ignoring the dripping sounds on the floor. He saw his son get up on his hind legs and slowly pace in front of the door, ever staring at him with glowing eyes, growling, before finally giving up. He dropped on all four and ran towards the forest, letting out a roar that resonated throughout the trees.

* * *

He saw the monster take off towards the forest, panic welling up in his chest. Varian would be safe sure, but who knows what would happen to whatever stood in its path?

Pain shot up his arm again and he took a moment to look at his injury. The injury given to him by his son. The thought made him queasy; Varian won't take it well at all should he learn about this.  
The gash was deep, but it would heal, hopefully without a scar.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the familiar sound of chittering and looked back at the kitchen. It was Ruddiger (thank goodness he was safe), standing and shaking in the doorframe with his ears pinned back.  
The raccoon saw the dripping blood on the arm and the floor and immediately ran away.

Quirin focused back towards the forest. He didn't blame the critter; poor thing probably had a front row seat to whatever transformation Varian went through tonight.

After a few minutes, he finally took it all in as tears starting dripping on his cheeks. He had a gut feeling that his son was holding something back, but never thought _that_ incident would've made him force back his shapeshifting entirely. The pains, the attitude, the irritability, the anger, the skinniness, the **hunger** and now this... It was too much for his poor boy.

Something came in contact with his foot. Looking down he saw a roll of bandages held by his son's pet, wearing a worried expression. Quirin smiled to the raccoon as he knelt down to grab the roll.  
"Thank you, Ruddiger. Let's go get Varian yes?"

Ruddiger gave the tall man a determined look and climbed on his good shoulder as he bandaged his arm. He was terrified of that...thing, but he had to help!

* * *

_Hungry_

_**So Hungry** _

It kept sniffing the air as it ran with nothing but a growling stomach in mind. There was no prey nearby and the last one had been too hard a catch; its side was still hurting and it made running painful. It suddenly stopped as it heard a small sound coming from a tree nearby; on one of its branches was a small squirrel.

_Prey_

_**Food** _

It dashed towards the tree with a roar, claws extended, in an attempt to climb, but its tail was too heavy and weighted it down.  
Its prey ran away.

Removing its claws from the tree trunk, it kept running and running for what seemed like hours...until it couldn't anymore and collapsed from exhaustion.

* * *

He kept running; Varian was out there somewhere and he needed to find him!

The sun's light was starting to appear through the forest's trees, morning dew on the grass visibly shining. Soon Old Corona would wake up to start their day and no one would be safe: neither his son nor the villagers.

He felt Ruddiger paw at his shirt and stopped; the raccoon was pointing towards a tree. Quirin's eyes widened as he set his gaze on it - the tree had deep gashes on its trunk. He got closer to the bark and looked around.  
More trees had claw marks, as like the ground. He got closer to the marks in the dirt and knelt down, grabbing some of it between his fingers. It was a good thing Hector taught him some tracking skills from back in his Brotherhood days...

They were fresh; Varian came by not too long ago. Ruddiger got off his shoulders and sniffed the dirt marks, then looked back before pointing in a specific direction, ears pinned back. Varian was over there. Quirin nodded and gently grabbed the raccoon, putting him back on his temporary perch, before getting back up and running. Quick, before morning came!

* * *

His head hurt.  
His side hurt. Everything hurt.

He could hear a pleading voice ringing in his head and groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.  
What happened? He couldn't remember...  
Last night...pain, then fangs, horns, claws...then nothing.

He shakily curled up on himself and started sobbing, despite the pain it brought. He had tried so hard to stop the shapeshifting, but it came anyway. W-Why was he cursed like this?! Why did he have t-this power? He never wanted it! And now, when he had tried to suppress it, it reared its ugly head and caused pain he never felt while normally shifting.

The tears kept coming and the quiet forest was filled with the sound of a crying child.

* * *

He stopped, listening attentively to the distant forest sounds.

...Crying...?

...Varian!

He ran as fast as he could towards the sounds of sadness resonating a bit further.  
And found him, all curled up next to some bushes and a crooked tree filled with slashes, eyes visibly stained with tears and a growing bruise on his side where the chair hit as his son kept crying.  
He was back to normal, mostly.  
Quirin could still make out the horns on his head, although they had shrunk, along with some mixed patches of black fur and scales on his forehead, arms and lower back. Small feathers were still present on his shoulderblades as well.

"V-Varian...!"

The boy groggily opened his eyes towards the familiar voice that had just called, running towards him, and knelt down. As he felt a strong yet shaky hand stroke his hair, he managed to talk through his hiccups.  
  
"I-I t-tried so hard, D-Dad. I-I t-tried!"  
"I-I know Varian, I know. Let's get you home first, t-then we'll figure it out", said Quirin as he wrapped his son in his fur coat.

The poor boy was shaking (not that he wasn't himself - this night had been a terrifying experience). Ruddiger had come down from his perch to take a sniff at his son, then with relief in his eyes snuggled up closer on the furry blanket as Quirin picked him up. His arm was still killing him but he didn't care, he needed to get Varian safely back home. Taking one last look at the carnage in the area, he started walking back home all the while shushing to the sobbing boy holding on to him for dear life, hoping to calm him down.

He opened the door to the castle and locked the door behind him; Varian had fallen asleep after crying his heart out on the way back, the animalistic remains of his chimeric form slowly regressing.

He stopped in front of the stairs and looked back at the living room and kitchen.  
At the slashes and broken wood pieces donning the floor, and shook his head solemnly as he went up to his son's room.

It was in even worse shape. The bed had been shredded to an unusable state, the bookshelves and desk had been tipped over with destroyed book pages littering the floors.

And claw marks.  
Everywhere.

Quirin's heart caught in his throat as he looked at his sleeping son in his arms, closing the door and walked to his own room; the one with the family portrait hanging on a lone wall.

Once he tucked in Varian in his bed, he knelt to place his forehead on his son's and wished him a good night before leaving the room.

He took another look at the damage in Varian's room, sitting on the destroyed bed, but the emotions were too much and he let out the choked sobs he'd been holding in for last few months.

He was scared even more for his family now.  
He was grieving his child's happiness.

Quirin, a highly trained knight of the Dark Kingdom, was terrified of the future.


End file.
